Deceit (The Stellar Series Book 1)

by Rebecca Clark

  I examine the interior, but there isn’t much to see. The smooth, seamless walls contain panels with switches, levers, and buttons of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The middle of the saucer has three rows of white bucket seats.

  “Sit, Alexa!” Makin shouts and disappears toward the front, where there’s a huge tinted window and a large chair.

  I sit in a bucket seat and harness myself in. I think back to the tiny, car-like spacecraft Jax brought me here in. It’s almost comical compared to this monstrosity.

  Michael appears next to me. He doesn’t say a word. He won’t even meet my gaze. He checks my safety harness and sits down next to me. I stare straight ahead, not wanting to see his face. But I can’t help the tears building up in my eyes; it’s only a matter of time before they spill out. I sense his gaze on me, but I stubbornly keep my focus on a spot ahead of me, unseeing, uncaring. Pissed.

  “Michael, come help me,” Makin calls from the pilot’s chair.

  Michael rises and goes forward. I can hear Makin barking orders at him, but I can’t make out exactly what he’s saying.

  Why would Michael do this to me? Why would he pretend to like me if he was just going to betray me? Too exhausted to cry, I close my eyes and slump against the back of the seat. I try to imagine why Michael would do this, but nothing comes to mind. I truly believed he liked me. How stupid can I be?

  Somewhere between thinking about Michael and feeling the spacecraft lift off, my eyelids become very heavy. The journey through the woods and Michael’s deceit have taken their toll, and I can’t fight the drug-induced slumber that my body craves.

  When I come to, I can tell that the silver saucer is still in the air. I look around, but I can’t see Michael or the evil puppetmaster, Makin. I undo my harness and slowly stand. The floor moves beneath me as if I’m in an elevator. I quickly get used to the sensation and start to move about, wanting to see exactly what I’m facing.

  It’s eerily quiet and calm. I take careful shuffling steps toward the front where I saw them both right before takeoff, but no one is there. However, I’m mesmerized by the view through the giant window in front of me.

  It’s just like the movies, but better. The blackness of space is illuminated by sparkling diamonds—stars. I assume they’re stars, but I’ve never seen one up close like this. The spacecraft moves at a steady pace. I watch objects outside the window disappear as quickly as they appear.

  The only giant object that remains in the window is a large mass—a planet, I assume—right in front of me. The saucer is headed straight for it. Its grand size intimidates me. Brilliant-orange, planetary rings similar to those circling Saturn encompass the purple-hued planet. To the right of the planet there are three orange-red objects lined up in a row. At this distance, they look similar to Earth’s moon. That image is shockingly familiar to me. My mind starts to spin and I feel nauseous. I close my eyes and rest my head in my hands. These are the same moons I’ve been seeing in my dreams. The same ones I saw on Pumalia, as well.

  Even though my eyes are closed, I can sense Michael coming toward me. I jump a bit when I open my eyes and see him staring at me. He isn’t cold and expressionless like he was before. The way he leans in against the chair, I can tell he’s more relaxed.

  “Go back to your chair before he sees you,” he whispers sternly. I guess I was wrong; his voice is emotionless. The Michael I knew is really gone.

  “What do you care? You turned me over to him.” I try to make my voice equally cold.

  Michael shakes his head as if my words have slapped him across the face. I think I accomplished my goal.

  Trying not to show my confusion and despair, I slowly walk back to my chair. It seems his gaze burns a hole through my back.

  “What’s she doing up?” Makin asks Michael as he enters.

  “She was just stretching her legs,” Michael answers coolly.

  I want to speak up and tell him that he’s going to pay. I want to scare him in a way that will let him know that he made a big mistake. But all I can do is build on the anger growing inside me. No longer am I scared, sad, or hurt. Instead, I’m becoming enraged.

  Tingling starts at my fingertips and moves quickly up my arms. I know this feeling is a warning I typically get before flames emerge from my nails. I try to calm myself by counting to ten, accompanied by deep breathing.

  Makin notices I’m acting weird because I can hear him move closer. “What’s she doing? I thought you said she didn’t have any abilities yet.” His voice is tight with anxiety.

  I can hear Michael’s breathing quicken. “I said it’s too early to tell. She hasn’t shown any signs of them yet.” Michael is lying—he knows damn well about my abilities. Why would he lie?

  The tension in the air quadruples while I’m in my counting trance. When I blink my eyes open, I see both of them standing before me with their mouths open, gawking at me. I know without even confirming my suspicion that my fingers are lit up like Christmas trees.

  “She needs to be restrained.” Makin’s voice trembles. He reaches into his oversized, brown robe and pulls out a needle. I know there’s nothing I can do to avoid being stuck. He has me cornered against my seat. And where am I going to run in this tin can, anyway?

  Michael tries to comfort me—I think. “This won’t hurt, Alexa. It will make you sleepy and more comfortable until we reach our destination.”

  I want to believe him, but it was only yesterday that he was holding me while I slept, and today he’s aiding in my capture for the queen.

  I clench my teeth and take the shot like a woman. My body instantly surrenders to the drug and there’s nothing I can do but slouch to the deck. Having totally lost all control, I have no way to stop my head from colliding with the shiny white surface. The last thing I remember is a loud bang and pain as my head bounces off the floor.

  “Jax! Help me! They have taken me,” I scream as loud as I can in my drug-induced coma. My mind is slowly darkening and I know the mental connection will soon be severed, but I wait to hear something, anything.

  No response. There’s nothing I can do except succumb. For now I’ll try and rest.

  Rest doesn’t find me. Instead, the sounds of my own screams violently jar me from my brief state of unconsciousness. Chills flow down my spine, shaking my body. My eyes throb behind my closed lids, and the thought of opening them is draining. I don’t move or make another sound, but I can still hear the echo of my screams reverberating throughout the room.

  My legs ache, my stomach hurts, and my arms feel crushed. The side of my body that meets the cool floor beneath me is slick with sweat. My hands are tightly fastened behind my back. How can this be happening to me again? I thought Michael was my friend—even more than a friend.

  His face is the last image I see before the drugs take me back on a dark journey into my unconscious.

  Moments later I wake again. Slowly, I open my eyes. The air burns them as I try to focus on my surroundings. Struggling to sit upright, I notice I’m alone. I madly scan the tiny room that holds me captive, looking for a possible escape route. But there’s nothing, not even a door or window. I feel panic rising. Will I have enough air to live? Does anyone know I’m here? My heart sinks to the pit of my empty stomach. How can he betray me like this? Michael is supposed to be my kind hero, coming to save me.

  He was my first kiss.

  I close my eyes and find a safe place within, “One, two, three, four…” The deep inhalations soothe the parts of me that want to break down.

  One thought has me curious: if I’m so badass and everyone wants me, then I must be able to get out of here, or at the very least, tell Jax where I am so he can come and help me.

  Calmness takes over and the rigidness in my body dissolves. I reach into my subconscious and look for a way to make contact with Jax. The only thing I can find fresh in my mind is the memories of the dreams I’ve had with him. I try to relive my time in the field of purple-stemmed flowers, but no luck. I even picture Jax in my
living room, then in his small car-like spacecraft, but all of the memories are, in fact, only memories. Nothing is giving me that tingling that I get when I make contact with him.

  I continue to focus on him, to hone in in on his features. The mental picture comforts me. I feel like I’ve known Jax for a long time. Most nights I dreamed of him, and most days I daydreamed about him.

  Relentlessly, I call his name mentally, over and over again, but there’s no response. I’m not sure how long I sit there trying to connect with him, because eventually, I fall asleep out of pure exhaustion.

  “Alexa, Alexa, where are you?” Jax’s voice sounds strained and surreal.

  But I’m so happy to hear him, either way. “Jax?” I draw in a lungful of air and hold it, waiting to hear his response. I look around, but all I see is darkness. No dream. I squint my eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

  “Listen, Alexa, I’m coming for you. Please, don’t do anything stupid. These beings want to keep you and your powers. They are very dangerous.” I can hear the intensity in his voice. His blue eyes flash in my mind; I wish I could see all of him.

  “Jax, I’m sorry I left without telling you. I just thought that was the only way.” Even though my eyes are shut, tears dampen my face. Guilt consumes me. He’s still looking for me, even though I ran away from him.

  “Alexa, don’t worry about that now. I’m coming, and I’m very close.” His voice is fading quickly into the dark abyss.

  “Jax! Jax, are you there?”

  Only silence follows my pleas.

  I allow myself to continue to weep for my poor judgment, my mistakes, for Elena, for Jax, and for the person I thought Michael was.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Get away from me, Michael!” I stare at the floor, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of looking at him. I don’t want him to see how deeply he has wounded me. Michael’s hot breath tickles my ear. I can feel him loosen the restraints behind my back and gently brush the hair out of my face.

  Michael sits back and draws in a breath. “Alexa, you don’t understand, and I can’t tell you, but you have to believe me when I say I care about you.”

  I can’t help the laughter that rolls out of my mouth. “Care about me? You kidnapped me and turned me over to the queen’s guard to take me to her. You think that’s something you do when you care about someone?” The laughing continues, and I’m afraid of what will follow it. “Not to mention drugging me and tying me up. Yeah, I can tell you truly care about me.” The sarcasm drips from my words and I know he understands just how much he has hurt me.

  “I don’t expect you to understand. But I need you to know I had no choice.” He shifts his gaze away from me and stares at the wall.

  I can see the pain clouding his big, brown eyes, but I don’t want to see it. He did this to me—I have to remember that.

  With an exaggerated sigh, he meets my eyes. “And back home, those feelings were real—I mean they are real. But I have to suppress them or they’ll keep me away from you. I’m working on a plan for all of us. I need to save them, too.”

  “Save who?” I reply, bewildered by this cryptic revelation. Who would he have to save besides me?

  Before he can respond, the door opens. “Oh, I’m glad to see the princess is awake.” Makin grins. “It’s time to make yourself pretty so you can visit with the queen.” The smug expression on his face makes my stomach turn.

  “Makin, she still seems groggy to me. I think we should let her sleep off the drugs so we can ensure a proper meeting between the two.” Michael’s eyes darken and go cold, heartless. The light I saw moments before Makin’s arrival is now extinguished.

  “Oh, Michael, she’ll have plenty of time to rest once she meets the queen and her abilities are formally bound. These makeshift, enchanted bonds won’t last forever.” Makin chuckles and exits the room.

  “I’m sorry,” Michael whispers right before two armed guards come in.

  The tallest of the two men stare me squarely in the eyes and says, “Princess, you can walk or we can carry you—which is it going to be?” His bald head is shiny, and the glare from the reflected light makes me squint.

  “I’ll walk, but I need someone to untie me so I can get up.” I must appear strong and fearless. The last thing I want is for Michael to see me fall apart. I need him to know that I can do this without his help.

  “We will not untie you, but we will certainly help you up,” the shorter man with wild, curly, red hair says, reaching down and grabbing my arm to pull me to my feet. I turn to glare at him and shoot him a scathing thank-you, but his hard eyes silence me.

  Another man enters the room and quietly speaks to Michael. All I can make out is something about the queen, and wanting to see Michael. The color drains from his face and his body stiffens before he shoots me an odd expression and nods. “Princess,” he says by way of farewell, then he’s gone.

  The tall guard motions toward the door. “Princess, this way, please.” I hold my head high and walk out of the room.

  I expect a dark, gloomy setting, but when I emerge from the room, I’m taken aback by my new surroundings. Floor-to-ceiling windows, all open, line both sides of the broad corridor. For a moment, the rolling green hills and rich scenery seem like paradise.

  “Where are we?” I ask, my voice barely audible even to myself. But I can’t hide my awe. On my right, the green flora meets a sandy beach that, in turn, meets sea-green waves, their caps frothed white. I feel as if I’ve been whisked away to a Caribbean island, not transported flying-saucer-style to a foreign planet.

  The intoxicating, warm breeze tickles my face and fills my nose with salty, sweet scents. I’m reluctant to leave the picturesque surroundings behind, but I’m forced to when we enter a large, white room with high ceilings and small, circular windows. Exotic artwork adorns the walls, creating a contemporary vibe that I, for sure, was not expecting.

  “Princess, please wait here. Her Highness will be with you shortly.” Before I can answer or plead for him to take me with him, the guard and his bald cohort are gone.

  I drop down on one knee, trying to calm my nerves by filling my lungs and holding the air in, but the image of Elena keeps flashing through my head. She is my mom, not some queen that’s ruining the galaxy and wreaking havoc.

  Part of me worries that this encounter will reveal a truth that I’ve always sensed. Maybe that constant, nagging of not belonging, and waiting for something big to happen, is finally happening. Deep down, I’ve sensed that I’ve been living a lie, and today might be the day the truth is revealed.

  Before I can give it another thought, the door flies open. The two guards who escorted me here enter first, with Makin following. They form an awkward line and kneel down on one knee. My heart starts to pound in my chest, its thudding echoing faintly in my ears. I know this is a precursor to passing out, but I fight the urge to give in like a helpless child. This is a time when I need to show my strength, not pass out like some swooning twit.

  “Princess, bow your head to the queen,” Makin growls, scowling at me.

  I long to reply with a snide remark, but instead, I bow my head. As soon as I do, the air in the room goes still.

  “Please, rise. There is no need for formalities in front of my daughter, though she’s a princess.” Her voice isn’t what I’d imagined it would be. She sounds soft-spoken and calm.

  “Daughter, finally we meet. I’ve been searching for you for seventeen years.” She draws in a long breath and exhales. “Please, look at me, Alexa.”

  Slowly, I raise my head to meet her gaze. The first thing I notice is her large, piercing, purple eyes. She has wavy blonde hair that falls to just below her shoulders, reminding me of my own hair color on Earth.

  “Alexa, are you well? Have they hurt or mistreated you?”

  Is she actually worried about me? “I-I’m okay. Just very confused.” It comes out in a whisper.

  “I’m sure you are. Let’s get you washed up and in some new c
lothes. I’ll explain everything. Gabe, Gavin, show her to her room. Get her a snack and prepare Aria.” Even though she speaks softly, you can tell that the people in the room are wary—attentive and hanging on her every movement.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” the bald guard replies. The three of them kneel once more, and as quickly as she came, she’s gone. I’m left there completely bewildered.

  The bald guard comes toward me. “This way, Princess.” He motions in the direction of the door and I oblige. I need to figure out where I am—and who I am.

  I spin and ask the guard, “So, are you Gabe, or Gavin?”

  “I’m Gavin.” His face remains expressionless.

  Gabe almost knocks me over when he darts past me to the door. He opens it and waves me through with a gentlemanly sweep of his hand. As I walk across the threshold, Gabe bows his head. These are the same guards who found me in that room, and probably the ones who put me there. Could all this be true? Am I truly a princess? Because they sure have changed their tune in the short time the queen has addressed me.

  “This way, Princess,” Gavin says proudly.

  I was beginning to think we were aimlessly wandering around, until I hear his voice. I felt as if we were traveling in circles, but when I questioned Gavin, he confirmed that the castle is, indeed, a maze-like fortress with a lot of rooms.

  The guards halt at a tall, blue, glass door. “This is it, Princess. This is your chamber.” Gavin gestures toward the portal.

  I gently lean against it and turn the sparkling crystal knob, pushing it open on “my chamber.” My breath catches in my throat. The tall, A-frame ceiling is adorned with at least twenty oval windows. The walls are a pale, sea-green with more windows—giant ones—overlooking a pink-sand beach.

  In the center of the room is a huge bed. It appears even larger than Sheri’s parents’ bed. They have a king-size bed, and I always wondered what it would be like to spread out on a bed that big after being so used to a twin bed. The blankets are a crisp white, and they appear to be soft, even fluffy. That is the moment I realize just how tired I am.